NASA plans live video feed from space

NASA plans to stream live video from a laboratory inside the International Space Station and broadcast it on the Internet starting Feb. 1, a NASA official announced.

The video will give the public an inside look at astronauts working in space, according to NASA. The video will be available during all crew duty hours. The space agency also recently started providing personal Internet access to astronauts aboard the space station.

The new in-cabin streaming video will also include audio of communications between Mission Control and the astronauts, when available, according to NASA’s Jan. 27 announcement. Since March 2009, NASA has provided streaming video of Earth and the station's exterior as the laboratory complex orbits 220 miles above Earth.

Video from the station is available only when the complex is in contact with the ground through its high-speed communications antenna and NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. During "loss of signal" periods, Internet viewers may see a test pattern. When the space shuttle is docked to the station, the stream will include video and audio of those activities.